Summertime can be perilous for shorebirds

Black skimmers fly over a nesting area near the east jetty in Destin. Camouflaged nests can work against the birds when it comes to people, says Julie Wraithmell with Audubon Florida.

NICK TOMECEK / Daily News

By TOM McLAUGHLIN / Daily News

Published: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 12:36 PM.

The stunning white sand of the Emerald Coast draws more than summer tourists by the thousands. It also attracts some of the world’s rarest shorebirds.

Threatened least terns and black skimmers are among beach-nesting birds that call the area home. And this time of year when beaches are brimming with people, eggs and hatchlings are in danger of being walked on or left exposed to predators or the heat of the sun.

“Giving them a little space makes a lot of difference,” said Julie Wraithmell, director of wildlife conservation for Audubon Florida.

Wraithmell said birds that nest in the sand sometimes are victims of their own stealthiness.

“For their eggs and chicks, the greatest protection is camouflage,” she said. “It works great for predators, but not for humans.”

The parent birds tend to react to someone or something approaching a nest site by leaving in an effort to draw the perceived predator away from eggs or chicks, whose coloring blends in with the sandy environment, Wraithmell said.

With no momma bird in sight, a human stumbling about in a nesting area could unknowingly trample over an entire bird colony’s next generation, according to a news release from Audubon Florida.

“People will see a marked-off area and see nothing inside, so they walk across it,” Wraithmell said. “The great majority of people are struck by seeing birds nesting on the beach and wouldn’t do anything to hurt the eggs or fluffy chicks. They just don’t realize birds are nesting on the beach and how vulnerable they are.”

Dogs left to run in areas where shorebirds are nesting can be particularly devastating, Wraithmell said.

In some places, the Audubon Society stations volunteer stewards around nesting sites.

The stewards not only protect the birds from encroachment, but also educate adults and children, according to Walt Spence with the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society.

Most monitored nesting sites on the Emerald Coast are at state parks such as Henderson Beach State Park in Destin or on federal property like Eglin Air Force Base land off Destin’s west jetty or the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

The stunning white sand of the Emerald Coast draws more than summer tourists by the thousands. It also attracts some of the world’s rarest shorebirds.

Threatened least terns and black skimmers are among beach-nesting birds that call the area home. And this time of year when beaches are brimming with people, eggs and hatchlings are in danger of being walked on or left exposed to predators or the heat of the sun.

“Giving them a little space makes a lot of difference,” said Julie Wraithmell, director of wildlife conservation for Audubon Florida.

Wraithmell said birds that nest in the sand sometimes are victims of their own stealthiness.

“For their eggs and chicks, the greatest protection is camouflage,” she said. “It works great for predators, but not for humans.”

The parent birds tend to react to someone or something approaching a nest site by leaving in an effort to draw the perceived predator away from eggs or chicks, whose coloring blends in with the sandy environment, Wraithmell said.

With no momma bird in sight, a human stumbling about in a nesting area could unknowingly trample over an entire bird colony’s next generation, according to a news release from Audubon Florida.

“People will see a marked-off area and see nothing inside, so they walk across it,” Wraithmell said. “The great majority of people are struck by seeing birds nesting on the beach and wouldn’t do anything to hurt the eggs or fluffy chicks. They just don’t realize birds are nesting on the beach and how vulnerable they are.”

Dogs left to run in areas where shorebirds are nesting can be particularly devastating, Wraithmell said.

In some places, the Audubon Society stations volunteer stewards around nesting sites.

The stewards not only protect the birds from encroachment, but also educate adults and children, according to Walt Spence with the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society.

Most monitored nesting sites on the Emerald Coast are at state parks such as Henderson Beach State Park in Destin or on federal property like Eglin Air Force Base land off Destin’s west jetty or the Gulf Islands National Seashore.